A Family Tragedy
by gdbt
Summary: The recession has an impact an Arthur's family. David's catering business is not doing well. David and Jane argue about money. Jane gets a job outside the home. That decision has tragic implications.


The recession took its toll in Elwood City. Jobs were lost. Hours were cut. Businesses suffered. The Read household was no different. Arthur's pet business was down to 10 customers total. The bigger problem was David's catering business which was down more than 50%.

Five years ago when David Read left his job as head chef at the Quilted Greeb, the economy was very strong. His new catering business started slow at first, but once his customers tasted his vibrant cuisine they kept using his services again and again. In the months preceding the recession, David's business was going so well that he had plans to open his own restaurant.

When things went bad, they went bad quickly. David's business telephone line once full of inquiries turned quiet. He had assumed things would improve quickly, but they didn't. He swallowed his pride and accepted a job as a short order cook. He also took a part time position in the evening as a dessert chef.

David's time away from home began to take its toll on his family life. He barely was able to see Arthur and D.W. The small amounts of time that he was home all he wanted to do was relax, but instead he ended up arguing with Jane. The Read family, once an All-American middle class family, was teetering on the verge of poverty.

"Do you know how humiliating it is to wait in line at the food bank?" Jane asked her husband. "There were several people that recognized me."

David: "Look, I'm sorry the catering business is down, but there's nothing I can really do. The economy is hurting everyone"

Jane: "I don't want to hear it. If you were a real man you would make enough money to provide for your family."

As he stormed out of the house, David stated: "I don't need this. F#$ off you crazy b!tch".  
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As the recession lingered, the Read marriage did not improve. It got so bad that they began to sleep in separate bedrooms. All communication between them took place in the form of snippy, hurtful comments about the other person. The constant bickering was not unnoticed by Arthur and D.W.

"Are Mom and Dad going to get divorced?" D.W. asked her brother.

"I don't know, D.W." Arthur told her.

"Why is Mom constantly yelling at Dad?" D.W. inquired.

"Well, Dad's business isn't doing very well so we don't have a lot of money. Mom tries to pay all the bills, but can't," Arthur explained.  
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When Jane left a fast-paced job at a Fortune 500 job to focus on having a family, she knew she wouldn't have a life of luxury, but she didn't expect to be struggling so much. She had a job as a part-time tax preparer at home, but that only provided a modest amount of income. With David not bringing in enough money, Jane began applying to jobs outside the home. With a little luck she was able to snag a position as an accountant at Crosswire Motors.

The new job couldn't have come at a better time for the Read family. All the family's savings were gone (including Arthur and DW's college funds). They were two months behind on their mortgage. With the new job the family was at least able to tread water financially.

While David and Jane no longer argued about money, things were still far from being back to normal. Jane's job at Crosswire Motors had long hours. She went to work at 7 a.m. and often didn't return until after 7 p.m. With Jane not spending as much time at home, David assumed more responsibility for household chores. He picked the kids up from school. He did all the cleaning. He changed Kate's diapers and put her down from naps. Rather than appreciate David for all his contributions, Jane started to resent him. She felt he was usurping her role as mother for the children, while receiving no appreciation herself for working such long hours.

Jane's life at work compared to her life at home was relatively stress free. Sure the hours were long, but the high energy world of used car sales led to a very fun workplace. She was constantly going out to lunch with her coworkers at new restaurants. They also played tricks and practical jokes on each other. She became particularly close to her boss Ed Crosswire. She had met him before when he coached Arthur on the Lakewood Elementary soccer team. She had also come across him a few other times due to Arthur's friendship with Ed's daughter Muffy. Ed was the exact opposite her husband. David was college-educated with an intimate knowledge of European cuisine. In contrast, Ed only possessed an honorary degree from Ivy University, which he only obtained by donating a library. He preferred McDonald's over high class cuisine. Physically, Ed was an imposing man at 6'4" with broad shoulders. In high school he lettered in football and wrestling, while David spent high school trying to avoid getting beat up.

Jane and Ed began eating lunch together daily. He provided a sympathetic ear to all of the Read family problems. Ed's family life was not much better. His wife was spending a lot of time in Crown City caring for her ailing mother. When she was home, Ed felt that she had lost interest in him as she was more concerned with the welfare of Muffy.

One particular afternoon Jane and Ed went out to lunch in his pickup. Instead of eating in a restaurant, they got takeout from Ed's favorite fried place and drove over to High Meadows Park to enjoy their lunch outdoors. After finishing lunch, they got back into the car. Ed didn't start the car and appeared pre-occupied.

"Look, we have a great time together," Ed said slyly. "And I know neither of us is getting what we need at home," he added.

Jane wasn't quite sure what he saying, but she did notice his hand beginning to unbutton her shirt.

"Just this one time. I deserve to have some fun," Jane thought to herself.

After she got home, Jane reaffirmed to herself that her tryst with Ed was a one-time event. She did not want to put herself in position to hurt her children with her selfish behavior.

Back at work the next day though, Jane was not able to control herself as she went out with Ed during her lunch break again. This time though instead of going out to eat, then drove immediately to the Starlight motel. Of the course of the next few weeks, the trips to the Starlight motel occurred with increasing frequency. The forbidden romance began to seep into worklife too, as Jane's coworkers began to notice her spending an awful lot of time in Mr. Crosswire's office.  
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A freshman at Elwood City High, Arthur was having trouble fitting in. At Lakewood Elementary, he and all of his friends were in the same class all the time. Now in high school, Arthur only had a few friends in each of his classes.

When his Civics teacher assigned a big project to be completed with a partner, Arthur had but one friend in the class that he could possibly work with: Muffy. Arthur had known Muffy since she and her family moved to Elwood City. Initially Muffy made a bad impression with Arthur and friends, my acting stuck up, behaving selfishly and lying, but as time wore on she settled in and became one of the gang.

"What do you want to do a report on, Arthur?" Muffy asked Arthur.

"I don't know," replied Arthur. "Let's each come up with a list of possible topics and then meet at the library."  
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[At the library]  
"Hey Muffy. I have an awesome idea for a report," Arthur said excitedly.

"Great. I have an idea too. You go first," Muffy replied.

"You know how the recession has had such an impact on the town. I thought we could talk to people in Elwood City about how the recession has effected their lives," Arthur explained.

"I really like that idea," Muffy stated. "It's similar to my idea too. I thought we could go down to the senior center and talk to people their about what life was like during the Great Depression compared to today."

"Oh, we could combine our ideas and discuss how Elwood City has handled economic hardship throughout the years," Arthur stated.

Muffy: "Totally. That idea is awesome. We're going to have the best project in the class. We better get busy on the proposal. Mr. Bryant wants to see a written description of the project tomorrow."

Arthur: "Let's go over to the computer room now. We should be able to finish in an hour or so."

[Arthur and Muffy go to computer room]

Muffy: "Hey, I'm moving the mouse and nothing's happening."

Arthur: "Everything seems to be hooked up correctly. I don't know what's wrong. All the other computers don't seem to be on either."

Muffy: "Ms. Turner! There's something wrong with the computers"

Ms. Turner: "Yes, Muffy. They're all having issues due to our computer network being down."

Arthur: "Oh that sucks. What are we going to do? The proposal is due tomorrow!"

Muffy: "Hmmmmm......the car dealership is just a few blocks away from here. We can just use my daddy's computer."

Arthur: "He won't mind?"

Muffy: "Not at all. Daddy barely uses his computer. I think all he knows how to do is go to ."  
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[Arthur and Muffy walk into car dealership]  
Muffy: "Welcome to Crosswire Motors, Arthur. Where we put the customer first"

Arthur: "Haha. Does your dad get to drive all these cars?"

Muffy: "He sure does. His favorite is the Corvette."

Arthur: "I wish my family had a Corvette. We still just have a crappy station wagon."

Muffy: "Here's my dad's office. Oh the door is locked. There's another door around on the other side. Let's try there."

[Arthur and Muffy walk around to the other side]

Arthur: "I hear noises. I think your dad is busy."

Muffy: "It's okay. Daddy won't mind if we use his computer so long as we're quiet."

As Muffy opened the door she and Arthur were shocked with what the saw. Mr. Crosswire was on top of his mother. They were both naked.

Arthur: "Mom! What are you doing!"

Jane: "Ahhhh! Arthur! Go home right this second young man and wait for me. Do not tell your father or D.W. anything!"

Broken and battered Arthur cried his way. Seeing his mother in that position, Arthur's view of the world shattered. He could no longer trust anyone. He knew his parents' marriage was in trouble, but he had no idea his mother would do something like this. He felt like what she did was a betrayal of not just his father, but him as well.  
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[Arthur is in his room lying face down on his bed. Jane walks in]  
Jane: "I don't know what you think you saw Arthur, but me and Mr. Crosswire were just wrestling."

Arthur: "Really, mom? Wrestling? I don't even think D.W. would buy that!"

Jane: "I'll give you whatever you want to not tell your father."

Arthur: "Go away. I don't want anything from you."  
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[The family is eating dinner]  
D.W.: "Mommy, why were you home early today? You never usually eat dinner with us."

Jane: "Mr. Crosswire let me go early because my work was finished."

David: "D.W. what happened in preschool today?"

D.W.: "I played four square with the Tibbles and Emily and won most of the time. The Tibbles kept trying to cheat but it didn't matter. I was in the zone. I also did a haystack on Emily and it hit her square in the face. She started bleeding!"

David: "Arthur, you haven't touched your meatloaf and you have a scowl on your face. What's wrong?"

Arthur: "Ask the whore!"

David: "What?"

Arthur [in tears]: "Muffy and I went to Crosswire Motors to use the computer. We walked in on Mom and Mr. Crosswire. They were naked and kissing!"

David: "You whore!"

[David clocks Jane with the casserole dish just above the eye.]

David: "I got to get out of here."

[David angrily drives off in the catering van]  
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[It's been three days since David drove off. He hasn't seen his family since then]  
[David Read walks into Crosswire Motors]  
David: "Yes, I'm looking for Mr. Crosswire".

[Sales Associate knocks on office door]  
Sales Associate: "Mr. Crosswire someone is looking for you."

Ed: "I'll be right there."

[David bumps the sales associate out of the way and bursts into the office]

David: "Well well well.....What do we have here."

[Jane, who had been sitting in a chair eating lunch, stands up]

Jane: "David, what are you doing here?"

David: "I came to confront Ed. Ed, did you really think you could take my wife and I'd be okay with it?"

Ed: "Look, if you had just taken care of your business nothing would have happened."

[David retrieves gun from coat pocket]

Ed: "Whoa whoa whoa. No one needs to get hurt hear."

[David raises gun and fires two shots at Ed hitting him in the head and chest]

Jane [to sales associate in lobby]: "Call the police! He shot Ed!"

David: "You know when I married you I expected you to be faithful. Your betrayal of our family is unforgivable."

[David fires three shots at Jane. She dies]

David: "D.W. and Arthur, I'm sorry."

[David turns the gun on himself]  
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In the aftermath of the incident Arthur and D.W. move in with Grandma Thora. Arthur transfers schools and never sees his friends again.

Author's note: Sequel potential? I'm thinking Arthur runs into Muffy years later.


End file.
